Search turns up no sign of opihi picker missing since Thursday

Fire officials will resume the search on Monday for a 30-year-old opihi picker who was last seen Thursday climbing down a cliff face at Cape Kumukahi in Puna.

Hawaii Fire Department personnel on Sunday spent the day searching by air, ground and water for Peter Mahoe, but found no evidence of the man. Mahoe was last seen around 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

The aerial search stretched 1 mile north and 3 miles south of Mahoe’s last known whereabouts while divers searched an area that stretched 1.5 miles north and south. The ground search focused on the area where Mahoe was last seen, according to the department.

HFD officials suspended the search at sunset Sunday. Personnel will resume the search at first light Monday.

The U.S. Coast Guard said late Sunday it was suspending the search indefinitely. The Coast Guard searched an area spanning more than 1,414 square miles.

“The decision to suspend our active search efforts is always difficult and was not made lightly, but one that had to be made at this time,” Capt. Shannon Gilreath, Coast Guard Sector Honolulu commanding officer, said in a prepared statement. “Our hearts ache at the loss of this honorable young veteran and our thoughts are with his loving wife, mother and siblings that have shown how much he meant to them.”